William Van Denburg Log Cabin

William Van Denburg erected a log cabin on this site in 1802. This log cabin was the first frame house built in Preble which is very interesting, and from looking at it, it seems to be in very good shape. For a period of time, this cabin was also used as a hotel. William bought the land from a fraudulent dealer in Albany that proved to be a soldier's claim for his service in the war. Despite William's best efforts, after a couple of years, he was reduced to poverty. William, his wife, and his brother moved back to their old home in Coxsackie. However, the rest of William's family stayed and turned it into their home.

In the area where the village of Preble would eventually spring, John Osgood built the first log house there within the first year of his arrival in 1802. Other settlers in the vicinity had arrived before him. According to these historical chronologies, Osgood’s log home and his store were on the land at the same time as the first frame house at Preble Corners hamlet, erected by William Van Denburg. Like Osgood, the Van Denburg family came in 1802.

William Van Denburg, born 1759 in Coxsackie, New York, arrived with his wife Catherine Van Kalkenburg; two sons, Lambert and Richard; and his brother Henry. William Van Denburg was the son of Willam Van Denburg and Elizabeth Van Bert, and his grandparents were Hendrik Van Den Burt and Treyntje Hoottailing. William had the first tavern in Preble village at this house. William eventually learned he bought the land from a fraudulent dealer in Albany that proved later to be a soldier’s claim for his service in the American Revolution.

William made a long and bitter fight, but in the end, he lost. After staying here a score or more years, William, reduced to poverty, went back to Coxsackie with his wife and brother. William's son Lambert, his wife Rachel Van Buskirk, and their large family; and Richard and his wife Leah Collier and their children stayed. The tavern turned into a house, and the once grocery store is illustrated in the 1876 Combination Atlas of Cortland County, New York. In 1884, the owner was John H. Gay, but today this well-kept historic home is owned and enjoyed by the Claude and Mary S. La Joie family.